If God were everything, the man would get along well wherever he went and among whatever people, for he would possess God and no one could rob him or disturb his work. ~Meister Eckhart
What do I need to do to have God be all things in my life? What examples of good people could be just as hindering towards my journey with God, as bad people?
This morning’s readings are all about Abram and Sarai as they start on their journey. They start with Abram’s nephew Lot, but divide up when it becomes clear there are too many herds for them to continue together. Lot travels towards Sodom (more on that in few chapters, I’m guessing!) and Abram settled in the land of Canaan. An exceedingly odd part of this story is that as they originally flee to Egypt because of famine, Abram pretends that Sarai is his sister, fearful that her beauty will result in the locals killing Abram. Alas, Pharaoh thinks that as sister, she’s fair game, and effectively abducts Sarai. Somehow, he finds out the Sarai is Abram’s wife, and he turns her out, angry with Abram that he’d lied, effectively “allowing” Pharaoh to take Sarai as his wife. It’s such a small detail in the story and written in a way as if to imply that this strategy was successful. Afterall, Abram didn’t get killed. But Sarai was taken, and made to lay with Pharaoh, and that’s ok.
I hear frequently about the male-dominated times, and sure, there are no female writers, and sure, the leading figures of Scripture are male. But without reading the Bible, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, you miss the insidious instances of how females were viewed and treated. But I digress. Back to the story.
God says to Abram, I will make you a great nation, and bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you. The reflection from Meister Eckhart, a German theologian and mystic from the 14th Century. His reflection focuses on the sense that humans can get that God is always present. The opposite of that is when we have to seek God, or find the place where we encounter God. All of those efforts, while they may be successful, demonstrate that we have not become one with God, that there is some space between ourselves and God.
I really appreciate this way of thinking about God’s presence. Biden or unbidden, God is present, or so Carl Jung is attributed as saying. Eckhart continues that if there is space between us and God, then there is space for evil to or bad intent to affect our reason, action, thoughts. He goes on to say that when that space exists, good people can be as problematic in being a barrier for us to connect with God, as bad people. Back to Abram. I think Abram was beginning to get that sense of one-ness with God, so fewer and fewer forces could divert him from God; there was no space for bad intentions to enter.
So what do I need to do to have God be all things? I think for me, it continues yesterday’s reflection of introducing more visual prompts and stacked habits to just constantly remind me of God’s presence. I believe that God is always with me, and sometimes I forget. Sometimes convenience wins out, or ego, or anything that would not-God, and I make choices that are less than God-inspired. I’ll continue to seek out ways to be reminded, particularly when I face challenges at home or work.
The second question for this morning’s reflection relates to what people or groups get in my way? I think that the sense of good or bad people, good or bad intended, is misguided. I think people are people. The problem is me. When I am wandering away from my knowledge that God is present, and I should be turning over everything to God, any person can get in my way – because I let them. The other person is just a convenient excuse for me to pursue my personal agenda. I’ve been in plenty of settings with people who I should be able to count as good, or good influences, and I’m drawn away from God. It’s all me and my wandering. I just conveniently let them be my excuse.
Conversely, I’ve been in plenty of settings with people who might be deemed bad, or bad influences that actually draw me closer to God. I remember who God is, who I am, and who God is to the other people. In these instances, it might actually be God working through the other people, to help me return; the addict who shows unbelievable kindness to others, the gangster who smiles sweetly after having his feet washed.
Perhaps for me, one of the biggest prompts I could have in my day would be the other children of God I encounter, whether colleagues, family members, or strangers on the street. Each of these people are beloved children of God. If I can begin to remember that with every person I see and every encounter, it’s bound to remind me of God’s presence, and to reduce or eliminate that space that I allow to creep in between me and God.
This morning, I’m thinking about how to have human eyes be the prompt to remind me of God’s presence. To look in every persons’ eyes, and see God, even on a zoom call with 70 people, or even if all I see is eyes above a mask. I can see eyes. And through those eyes, I can see God.
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